Many trees are stressed by prolonged periods of hot, dry weather. Selecting trees that use water efficiently is one way to make your landscape more resistant to droughts. Learn about several tree maintenance procedures to increase a tree’s chance during drought such as mulching, proper pruning, limiting fertilization and supplemental irrigation.

Lara Schuman, an ISA Certified Arborist and acting Program Manager at City of Austin Urban Forestry will share her knowledge on caring for trees.

Free and open to the public, this fun, hands-on fair involves community members in creative, low-cost ways to grow vegetables, herbs and fruit to improve the family diet as well as information about Earth-Kind landscaping. Get expert advice from Master Gardeners on all aspects of gardening and composting, as well as backyard chickens and beekeeping. The fair will feature an assortment of DIY and demonstration activities, including garden planning, kids’ activities and container garden building.

New information this year will address raising backyard rabbits, alternate methods of gardening, building a backyard greenhouse or hoop house, house plants and terrariums, and garden tools and techniques.

Butterflies in the Garden: Wanting to start a butterfly garden for you school or even your own backyard? Maybe, you have a small garden and just want to help encourage pollinators to pay you plants a visit. In this talk we will focus on butterflies and how you can invite them into your space. Kellyn Smith has been a Master Gardener since 2013. A lover of all insects she has a specialty in entomology and founded the butterfly garden at her school, a place she and her students treasure.

If you have limited garden space or time yet still have a desire to nurture your green thumb, Master Gardener Pat Mokry will teach you how to raise carefree veggies, herbs and flowers using self-sufficient grow boxes. Then, for some more ‘new’ gardening techniques, Master Gardener Marian Stasney will describe the ancient practices of both keyhole gardening and hugelkultur.

Serving the Community

Educational programs conducted by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the Prairie View A&M University Cooperative Extension Program are open to all people without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information or veteran status. The Texas A&M University System, the U. S. Department of Agriculture and the County Commissioners’ Court of Texas cooperating. Persons with disabilities who plan to attend a meeting and who may need auxiliary aids or services are required to contact Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service-Travis County at 512-854-9600 ten working days prior to the meeting so appropriate arrangements can be made.